


In Your Orbit - UsaMamo Shorts

by Daikon (Daikon1)



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: Drabble Collection, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25925359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daikon1/pseuds/Daikon
Summary: Short UsaMamo ficlets inspired by prompts. These will come at random based on when I have inspiration, and may draw on any Sailor Moon canon!
Relationships: Chiba Mamoru/Tsukino Usagi
Comments: 10
Kudos: 38





	1. Mug

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: Some of my Fandom friends occasionally play something we call "The Prompt Game," where we find something that inspires us and then try to write a short piece (ideally 500 words or less) around it. They're quick, unbeta'd, and just for fun, and I'm going to be sharing mine here!
> 
> Today's prompt is "Mug," based on a fabulous piece of Mamo fanart by tamagooo - you can find it on Twitter at twitter . com / tmjg58842932 / status / 1294303205698879488?s=19 (remove the spaces). Basically, it's Mamo-chan in scrubs holding an adorable mug in his hand.
> 
> Prompt: Mug
> 
> Word Count: 500 words
> 
> Rating: K/G
> 
> Hope you enjoy, and would love to hear what you think!

"Oh, so cute! Did one of your patients give you that?"

Mamoru glanced down at the mug in his hand, which held that day's fifth cup of coffee. It was a pale purple, with a winking white cartoon rabbit and the word "Usa" painted on the side in childish print.

He chuckled sheepishly, understanding his colleague's confusion. "Uh, no, actually. I took my girlfriend to one of those 'Paint your own pottery' places."

"Aw, and she made that for you?"

His ears turned red as he nodded.

He wasn't embarrassed that the mug was unabashedly cutesy - anyone who could find it in themselves to be embarrassed by the love and exuberance of Tsukino Usagi simply didn't understand her. What squirmed in his stomach was the lie - the fact that in reality, Usagi had painted the mug for herself, and it had taken him weeks to get up the nerve to pocket it one morning as he left her apartment for his shift at the hospital.

So far she didn't seem to have noticed - she had several dozen cartoon mugs already, after all - but a part of him did worry that she'd wake up one morning and wonder where it had gone.

Not enough to return it, of course - his shifts as an intern were grueling, and on more than one day this littlest reminder of his love had been the only thing to keep him going. But if lying to his colleague about the origins of the mug made him uncomfortable, he could only imagine what lying to Usagi about the mug might feel like.

It was a few hours later, sitting in the break room finishing up the day's paperwork with cup of coffee number seven on the table next to him, when a pair of small hands covered his eyes.

"Guess who?!" trilled his favorite voice in the world, and he grinned.

"Hmm… Ginga-san? It's been such a long time..."

Usagi smacked his shoulder before sliding into the chair next to him. "That is _not funny,_ Mamo-chan," she informed him with her arms primly crossed and her nose in the air. Then, her eyes pivoted down to the table and she squealed.

Mamoru's stomach dropped when he realized she had seen the mug. _It seemed his day of reckoning had come..._

"Finally!" Usagi crowed. "I was wondering how long it was going to take you to 'sneak' this out of my apartment!"

His brow knit in confusion. "What?"

She threw him the look she usually saved for the times when he was being particularly dense. "Mamo-chan, did you really think I needed _another_ bunny mug? You've seen my cupboard, right? The ones I already have don't even fit!"

"Then why…?"

She rolled her eyes with her usual bright smile. "I wanted _you_ to have it, but you didn't want to admit that you _wanted_ it, so…"

He shook his head, bewildered, and hid his smile by taking another sip from his purple mug.


	2. Mug Take 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOL so the mug prompt WOULD NOT leave me alone, and now I have a second take on it. 
> 
> Prompt: Mug
> 
> Word Count: 497 words
> 
> Rating: K/G

It was a grueling Tuesday, the sort that demanded constant caffeination, so Doctor Chiba Mamoru entered his patient's room - twenty-year-old female, minor fall accident - with a steaming mug of coffee clutched firmly in his hand.

"Tsukino-san?" he asked, and nearly caught his breath at the ocean-blue eyes that snapped up to look at him.

"It... says on your chart that you fell down a staircase?" he asked, clinging to his practiced professionalism. After all, she was clutching an ice pack to one elbow in apparent pain - now was not the time to become fascinated by her miles of endless golden hair.

"That's my mug." Her voice cut the silence, and he blinked.

"Pardon?"

"That is my mug," she repeated, pointing at the cup Mamoru held. "See, it has my name on it, U-SA."

Frowning, Mamoru brought the mug to his face and squinted at it. Same painted bunny, same scrawl of the letters 'USA.' He'd picked it up a few weeks ago, unable to resist its charming effervescence.

"I'm sorry, Tsukino-san, you must be mistaken. I bought this in a thrift shop. I'm sure there are dozens like it in the world."

Glaring at her lap, she shook her head. "Ikuko-mama _promised_ to wait for me before she went through my stuff," she muttered, then stood up, wincing slightly as she put weight on her ankle.

"No, it's handpainted, see?" she said, stepping into his personal space.

His throat worked as he tried not to shy away from her.

"My friend Naru-chan and I painted mugs together when we were fourteen. Look, you can see the brushstrokes from where I messed up the bunny's tail." She rested one hand on his shoulder as she traced the line of the cartoon rabbit with the other; his fingers unconsciously tightened on the mug's handle.

"Er… Tsukino-san, maybe you should sit down?"

But she didn't move away. Instead, her head tilted slightly, her face inquisitive. "Why'd you buy my mug?" she asked, and he chuckled sheepishly.

"It made me smile," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sometimes, working at the hospital is exhausting; any pick-me up helps."

If her mug made him smile, he wasn't prepared for the impact her full-blown grin would have on him. His stomach squeezed, but in an oddly pleasant way.

"Fiiiine," she sighed. "I _suppose_ you can keep it if it helps you save lives." Her eyes were sparkling as she finally stepped away from him. "But I think I should get something in return."

His left eyebrow arched slightly. "Pardon?" he repeated.

"You could buy me a coffee? To make up for it?" she suggested, her smile somehow widening. "When is your shift over?"

He blinked a few times. "Ah- one hour until I get off, Tsukino-san."

"Usagi," she corrected as a nurse knocked on the door to take her to get her ankle X-Rayed. "See you in an hour?"

He nodded, breathless. _After all, it was a coffee kind of day._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the first take, obviously Usagi and Mamoru had been dating for a while, but then I thought "...how could I still incorporate the mug, but make it a meet-cute instead?" 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, please consider dropping me a review to let me know?


	3. Latte Art

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I got sucked into a long conversation about Sailor Moon-themed food, and this was the result! Unbeta'd, so any mistakes are my own. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts!
> 
> Prompt: Latte Art
> 
> Word Count: 570 words
> 
> Rating: K/G

"I would have pegged you as a Sailor Moon fan," Mamoru said, clearing a swell of emotion from his throat as he looked down at the big foamy mug clutched in Usagi's hands, topped with syrupy lines in the shape of a too-familiar mask that sat in front of a blooming rose.

When he'd wandered into Makoto's newly opened cafe that morning, lured by the promise of coffee and "Senshi Week!" on the hand-painted sign hung out front - clearly the handiwork of the bubbly blonde he never seemed able to have a normal human conversation with - he hadn't expected to find fanart of, well, him.

"What?" She looked down, then up at him with cheeks that matched the plate of Sailor Mars macarons balanced on her arm. "I mean, yeah, Sailor Moon is great, just…" She shifted her weight gingerly. "The other senshi deserve love, too."

"You know, Tuxedo Mask doesn't really count as a senshi."

She deposited her snacks on one of the tiny tables, then whirled at him with fists on hips. "Everybody keeps saying that!" Her voice was a sharp keen, a wail that almost reminded him of that first night he'd rescued Sailor Moon - now such a long time ago. "But he SO DOES, even if he doesn't fight WITH them. He's out there risking his life to save Sailor Moon, and he's in the papers with u-them all the time."

She ended her rant with a huff, cramming an entire macaron into her mouth and scowling at him.

"I guess that's true…" he said noncommittally, eyes tracing the specials board. "And Makoto-san clearly sees it your way, if she's making Tuxedo Mask Lattes."

Movement in the corner of his eye pulled his attention back to her, and when he looked again, she was shuffling from foot to foot.

"What?"

"Mako-chan made the Tux latte special for me," she confessed in a rush, and Mamoru felt his cheeks warm suddenly. _Why would she…?_

"I just don't think it's fair for him to get left out all the time," she added, fumbling her words slightly as she squeezed a pigtail in her fist. "So it's my own personal crusade. The world needs more Tux merch!"

He coughed, hoping doing so would clear out that weird fluttery feeling in his upper chest - probably some kind of indigestion from his late dinner the night before.

"That's… That sounds like something you would do, Usagi-san," he said after a moment. "I'm sure if he knew about it, Tuxedo Mask would appreciate the gesture."

Usagi grinned. "Well, until the other senshi decide to let him join the team, anyway. Once that happens, I'm sure he'll have a bigger fan club and more merch than he knows what to do with! But in the meantime, I hope he's not too disappointed with just me!"

He shook his head, saying some words he wouldn't remember later to reassure her, before going up to the counter and ordering a black coffee - no art on it at all.

But the sensation in his chest didn't dissipate after coffee, or even after he ate that Sailor Moon cupcake Makoto had convinced him to buy.

He caught himself watching Usagi across the cafe, his heart pounding as she doodled in a notebook and wolfed down Sailor Mercury cakepops, and he realized that no - Tuxedo Mask would never be disappointed so long as Usagi was in his fanclub.


	4. ZAP!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh no! A middle school game and some machinations by Motoki mean Usagi has to ask Mamoru-baka out??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a conversation with some friends about middle school earlier today, and I remembered the game ZAP! 
> 
> For those of you unfamiliar with it, essentially your friend(s) would write someone's name on your palm and a time on the back of your hand, and if you looked before the time, then you had to ask that person out. 
> 
> In any case, I got inspired and here is the result!
> 
> Unbeta'd, so any mistakes are my own.
> 
> **Prompt:** ZAP!
> 
> **Rating:** K
> 
> **Word Count:** 597 words

She was going to _murder_ Motoki. 

Her heels pounded the cobblestone as she dashed down Juuban-dori, hoping to make it to the Crown in time to give the cute arcade worker a piece of her mind before she made herself late for school. 

When she’d explained ZAP! to him the day before and he’d grabbed her hand and a pen without asking, this had _not_ been what she’d had in mind!!

She skidded to a halt outside the arcade, her heart suddenly pounding in her chest, and not only from her morning dash. 

Mamoru-baka -- the guy whose name was currently written across her palm -- stood outside the arcade in his school blazer, rapping his knuckles against the glass. 

Usagi jumped, searching for a telephone pole or large plant that she could duck behind until Mamoru went away -- but it seemed her sudden motion only drew his attention. 

He jerked his head up, blinking owlishly at her from behind his glasses. “Usa.” 

The word sounded unfamiliar on his tongue -- but only because she was so used to hearing Odango!

“W-what are you doing here?” he stammered. “Won’t you be late for school?”

“I’m always late for school! But you’re gonna be late if you don’t hurry up!” 

His hand tightened around the strap of his satchel, and her eyes suddenly zoomed in on a faded scribble of blue ink on the back of his hand: 23:59.

Her eyes dropped to the back of her own hand, the identical markings, and all her breath squeezed out of her chest at once. 

“The illustrious Chiba Mamoru plays ZAP!?” she asked, and watched as blood flooded his face. 

“Don’t be ridiculous! Motoki tagged me, but I would never seriously…” He trailed off as his eyes latched onto the writing on the back of her hand, which she self-consciously slipped behind her back. 

Her eyes flicked down to watch the way Mamoru licked his lips, then back up at the furrow between his brows. “...You too?” he finally managed to say, and she ran a hand along her pigtail, shrugging in a way she hoped was mature and nonchalant. 

“Yeah, but I didn’t look,” she lied, too embarrassed to admit she’d caved five minutes before midnight and was only up this early because she hadn’t been able to sleep -- she’d spent the whole night tossing and turning in a panic about having to face him today. 

“Me, either,” he said, quickly. 

“So it doesn’t matter,” she added, because it wasn’t like she _wanted_ Mamoru-baka to ask her out or anything. 

“No… I guess it doesn’t.” 

“Well. Good, then.” She shifted her weight, banging her briefcase against her knees. “Because like, you and me? Get real.” 

“Motoki’s obviously been watching too much Terrace House again,” Mamoru muttered, rifling his hand through his hair. “Thought he’d try some matchmaking of his own.” 

Her stomach churned like she’d skipped breakfast as she looked down at her feet. “Cool. Just as long as you like, didn’t actually _want_ to ask me out.”

He inhaled sharply. “Of course not. Don’t be stupid, Odango.” 

“Because I wouldn’t go out with you if you were the last guy on earth.” 

“Yeah. Got that.” 

She huffed, swiveling on her toes. “Anyway, I have to get to school now. See you.” 

She threw a glance over her shoulder as she walked away, but all she saw was Mamoru’s retreating back as he headed to Motoazabu High. 

_And that was fine_ , she reminded herself. _She was relieved that Mamoru didn’t want to go out with her, either._

_She_ **_was_ ** _relieved. Right?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, this is loosely inspired by an actual experience I had in middle school, when my crush at the time and I both got ZAPped and asked each other out (and turned each other down) in immediate succession because I was too shy to admit I wanted to go out with him. 
> 
> Reviews are love, and I'd love to hear what you thought!


End file.
